A Hero's Gotta Do What a Hero's Gotta Do
by KoinuAndKokage
Summary: A nightmare leaves Lady Celestia sweaty as she awakes. When she goes to Falconreach it's immediately apparent that something horrible happened the night before: no one is acting normal. Can the Hero Natasha and unaffected friends find out what happened?
1. Disclaimer

**~A hero's gotta do…~**

**Disclaimer**

Welcome all to my first Dragonfable fanfic! It's a very different step from what I originally planned to write about, and Dragonfable isn't a very often used storyline, but it's something I enjoy writing fanfiction about, so here it goes.

First of all, I own NONE of Dragonfable… though I do have a Dragon Amulet now, and would suggest that players that don't have one ask for one for Christmas…

All credit goes to the many people of Artix Entertainment (Copyright), who have worked for so long to make Dragonfable, Adventurequest and the other online RPG's of theirs pretty awesome.

This story is written using my level 26 (and going) character Natasha. Her battle ID is 16058683, in case you wish to see her. I have stuck to the Dragonfable 'speaking' format: no swears, crude themes, etc. And a little humor here and there.

This is written for my sister and my friends, but feel free to leave useful feedback (and encouraging feedback is useful feedback, though, I'll keep writing this whether or not I get it, because my sis wants to see it ^_^ ).

Also given credit for helping me write: My special little dragon, Sheherazad (Yes, I know it's not spelled traditionally).

Before you read this story, it would be helpful to you (to understand the plot) if you:

Know what Dragonfable is, and have played it.

Have completed the quests for the Orb of Darkness AND the Orb of Light.

Have your baby dragon, and perhaps have 'grown' it.

Have a Dragon Amulet (lots is based off of it)

Have been to/met the characters in: Sunbreeze Grove, Robina's Zone, Warlic's Zone, The Sandsea, The Necropolis, Oaklore, Dragesvard, and Amityvale. It'd be best if you've visited all the places you can, but if you've only been to the above, you can probably understand what's going on.

Have a character that has done much of the main storyline and is at least level twenty.

Know who Tomix is.

Know how Cysero acts…

Even if not all of the above apply, if you know what Dragonfable is you'll probably be able to enjoy the story! However…

**WARNING: IF NOT ALL OF THE ABOVE APPLY TO YOU, THIS MAY BE A PLOT SPOILER! IT MAY BE A PLOT SPOILER ANYWAY UNLESS YOU HAVE COMPLETED MORE QUESTS THAN I HAVE (which you may very well have, since my highest character is only level twenty-six).**

Thanks a bunch, check out Artix Entertainment, and enjoy! ^_^

Rated T for: Somewhat descriptive battle scenes, nightmares, action, drama.


	2. Prologue: Not Quite Right

**Prologue: Not quite right… not quite left.**

There were shadows all around. Well, they couldn't really be called shadows, since they were most definitely living creatures… except, they weren't really alive, since it was just a dream.

_Indeed, simply a dream, _Lady Celestia thought as she stood in the dark forest. _But perhaps a dream with meaning?_

Shortly after she had fallen asleep, the dream had begun… and had slowly gotten worse and worse. It had started out with her standing in Falconreach, speaking to Twilly about the weather, when suddenly Twilly lost all color and faded into nothingness: she was unable to stop this. Then she had been in the Sand Sea, searching for something, but she didn't know what: only that it was important. She had seen the last Sand Elf, Zhoom, but when she attempted to speak to him it was as though he was purposely ignoring her as best as he could: every time she spoke he would turn away stiffly: this she could not stop either.

She had then turned around and found herself in Oaklore. She had seen Sir Prize and had gone to talk to him, but when she came closer to him, she found he was only armor—with no person inside, yet still standing at attention. Rather desperate, she had gone to talk to Captain Rolith, who also had his helmet on, but as she peered into it, gloomy skeleton eyes met hers, and she found she could not even whisper when looking at him.

After turning away from the scene, she was greeted with Doomswood, a dreary sight. She found herself in the middle of a section of dark forest she had never seen before. That brought her to her present location in the dream: Quite lost, and sensing more and more evil about her.

She sighed and considered waking up. "I'm too old for this kind of dream," she said to the wind. "Only young, energetic heroes should be experiencing such things!"

Of course, she knew that only she or a powerful mage such as Warlic [the Blue Mage] would be able to interpret such dreams if they meant anything. Still, the evil grew closer, and the shadows became like mist, making it hard to breathe as well as see.

Lady Celestia ventured onwards, knowing that if she simply went one direction for long enough, the climax of the dream would be revealed: it always happened that way, and hadn't changed in 100 years.

It seemed like hours that she traveled, seeing the same forest and feeling a deeper and thicker darkness surround her. Finally she stopped and sighed. She had but one choice.

"If you won't reveal yourself," she said politely to the darkness, "then I will force you to."

She heard a distant hiss as a reply, but ignored it and shouted, "Reveal yourself, darkness, so that the Light may destroy you, or forever hold your peace! I command you in the name of the One who gives me my power over you! Reveal your message, or perish into the empty hole of which you came from!"

It was a planned speech, which she had spoken many times through the ages. To her surprise, nothing happened for a whole three seconds. Then suddenly, the ground rumbled with dark laughter.

That's more like it," she said, sipping a cup of hot tea that appeared out of nowhere.

The dark laughter grew louder, and something began emerging from the forest ahead of her. She waited patiently until the giant figure had risen to full height.

Unfortunately, once she woke up she could not remember what it was, but she could remember being utterly shocked and somewhat concerned when she saw it. She remembered it speaking, telling her something that was quite upsetting, and she remembered answering it, then banishing it… or attempting to. She knew she was able to banish a part of it, and because of that, something was saved, something extremely vital, but she couldn't remember what.

What she did know, as she woke up sweating and shaking Monday morning, was that the thing in her dream was real, and something very, very intolerable was about to occur… something that could alter the existence of Lore forever.


	3. Dear Blank

**Chapter One: Dear Blank: Blank. Signed, ~Blank~**

There was a chill in the air. Everything was quiet for a moment, except a slight breeze that blew past the hero's face. The breeze formed a solid shape, and began getting louder…

_Natasha…Natasha, wake up…you are needed, badly needed…_

_Natasha…you must wake up. The survival of Lore depends on it…_

Natasha jolted upright in bed, eyes wide as the whispering registered. Her first reaction was to grab Helm Splitter, her axe she used in most battles. She was about to swing it at whatever had just whispered in her ear when a familiar screech rang out from beside her and something fell off her bed with a _thump!_

Natasha blinked, quickly swiping her black curly hair out of her eyes with her free hand. She turned to her right where the thump had occurred and glared. Her glare was returned by a pair of milky white eyes. A high pitched little rumble sounded in the room as the creature spoke:

"FINALLY you're awake!" It said. "I'm _hungry!_"

Natasha sighed, staring down at the little dark blue dragon. She heard the tiny glowing sound (does glowing make a sound?) of her Dragon Amulet, which allowed her to understand what the hatchling was saying. She had often wondered how it worked, but that wasn't what she wondered today. She wondered… "What time is it?..."

Natasha glanced at the little magic time-teller Warlic had given her a year ago and frowned. "It's only six-thirty, Sheherazad! And… and what was all that hogwash about 'the survival of Lore?'"

Sheherazad shifted and folded her wings as though sheepish, but quickly removed the look and replaced it with what could be translated as a smirk in Draconic. "Weeeelll… the legend-thingy DOES say that I'm the one who will either destroy the world or save it, right? Right! So, if I don't get my breakfast, maybe I'll destroy the world today!"

Sheherazad put on a ferocious look. Natasha just stared.

"Right," she said, rubbing her blue eyes and putting Helm Splitter back on her night stand. "Come on then, let's get you some chow."

Sheherazad flapped her wings in excitement as Natasha got out of bed, changed into her blue (yes, she has many blue things) Dragonrogue armor, grabbed her favorite daggers and headed to the kitchen. She reached into a cabinet and pulled out a brown box. She shook it slightly and frowned.

"Great, almost empty," she mumbled. She glanced at Sheherazad, who was sitting patiently at her food dish (specially carved for her by Cysero… the dish burps if the dragon likes its food…).

"Looks like we get to visit Lady Celestia today," Natasha said, pouring the last of the food into Sheherazad's dish.

The little dragon wagged its tail once happily. "Yay! Time to visit Grandma!"

Natasha gave her a sharp look. "You do NOT call her that in public, young lady! Where'd you even learn what a grandma is?"

Instead of answering, Sheherazad dug into her food. Natasha sighed (again) and began rummaging the kitchen for her own breakfast. It was tough, being the owner of the dragon destined to save or destroy the world.

After breakfast, Natasha grabbed her helmet, her backpack and 300 gold coins and headed towards the door.

However, just as she was about to turn the handle, she got a funny feeling and hesitated. It was the kind of funny feeling a hero feels before they decide to click the red button, before they sign the official document, or before they light a match in a cave that's possibly filled with flammable gas. A moment later, there was a knock. Well, three knocks, actually.

*Knock knock knock.*

Natasha looked down at Sheherazad. "Well, whaddaya know? Maybe that's Lady Celestia now! She does tend to know what I'm thinking sometimes, interestingly enough…"

*Knock knock knock!*

Sheherazad shook her head. "Nah, Grandma would never knock so loudly. She's too ladylike. She'd probably barely tap the door, or just appear inside the house out of thin air! It's gotta be someone else."

***Knock Knock Knock!***

Natasha frowned. "But no one ever comes and visits me... _especially_ here. I mean, seriously, I'm out and about so much, barely anyone knows where I live—"

***KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!***

Sheharazad cocked her head. "It's funny they don't just yell at you or state their name, or at least ask if anyone's home, or break down the door…"

***BANG BANG BANG!***

"Alright already, I'm getting to it!" Natasha exclaimed, frowning. "Jeeze, no patience at all…"

She opened the door wide and gasped at the site before her.

There, standing before her, was…

"Uhhh, Valencia? What are you doing with that giant sledgehammer?"

Valencia Shurehunter smiled carefully, and set the giant golden sledgehammer she was holding down… except, it floated.

"Why, Natasha! I was simply trying to get your attention. It's so good to see you after so long, how are you? And look at you, Sheharzaphat! You've grown so much."

Sheherazad growled deep in her throat. "It's _Sheharazad,_ you purple-haired sandbar!"

Extremely glad Valencia couldn't speak Draconic, Natasha proceeded to stomp lightly on Sheherazad's foot and grin at Valencia.

"Sheharazad says you've grown, too." _Does she even know what a sandbar is?_

"SO, uh, what's up?"

Valencia had been staring at Sheherazad as though trying to figure the little dragon out, but now she turned back to Natasha and smiled sweetly.

"Well, as you can see, I found this amazing Ancient Rare Sledge Hammer… I call it 'The Anti-Gravity Hammer'. It's extremely heavy, except some mage put helium-magic into it, thus making it always float four feet off the ground unless human skin is touching it. Then, it allows the human to use it, but it still feels light to the user, though it's made of real gold. That, plus the fact that-"

"That's all great Valencia," Natasha said quickly, "but certainly you came for some… deeper purpose? I am kinda busy, after all…"

Valencia pouted. "Hmph. Fine, fine, you were never one to appreciate rare items, after all. You only took what came your way, such as the dragon from the Black Dragon Box."

Sheherazad glared. "I have a name, you know!"

Valencia ignored her and continued: "Anyway, the REAL reason I'm here is to give you a message from Arty. He told me not to open it, but-"

"Hold on a sec," Natasha said. "Who gave you the message?"

Valencia frowned and crossed her arms, cocking her hip for emphasis.

"Artix, like I said! Here, I didn't open it… barely."

Valencia handed Natasha a small scroll, which was tied shut with a golden string. Natasha frowned deeply and cocked her head slightly. "But… why wouldn't Artix just give it to me himself? Did he lose my house address again?"

Valencia laughed and shook her head. "Perhaps, but that's not why he sent me. He claimed he had just discovered a new 'Undead Camp-out', and he had to investigate further… which, I'm sure, meant utterly destroy it. He seemed thrilled to have discovered it, so I agreed to take this to you."

Natasha decided not to ask Valencia what she had been doing in Doomswood. She looked at the message, then up at Valencia. "Thanks for delivering it, Val… and for not peeking at it."

Valencia leaned forwards slightly. "It was such a temptation… after all, a letter from Artix is rare… especially one to a girl!"

Natasha frowned deeply, and Sheherazad looked at her with curiosity. "What's that mean, Natasha?" She asked.

Valencia giggled and swiftly turned to walk away. Her Anti-Gravity Hammer floated at her right, keeping pace with her. "See you later, Natasha! Bye, Sharzaphat!"

Sheherazad took a step and leapt into the air, hovering at three feet high. "It's Sheherazad!" She roared squeakily.

Natasha frowned. Yes, she had to admit that Artix was abnormally cute and excruciatingly charming, but he was also quite impulsive and only interested in slaying the undead. That suited her fine, as she was only interested in saving the world. They both had their paths, and though their paths had crossed and they were friends, that was as far as their knowledge and care of each other went. Just comrades, nothing more.

Natasha quickly snapped back to the present and opened the letter as Sheherazad landed. She blinked in surprise at what it said:

'_

_'

Sheherazad looked up at Natasha, curiosity written all over her face. "What does it say?"

Natasha frowned. "Nothing… it's blank."

Sheherazad looked puzzled. "Blank? Hmm… Hey, I'll betcha it's that magic ink stuff! Y'know, the stuff that only someone with magic can make appear?"

Natasha examined it closer. "Perhaps… yeah, that's got to be it."

She sat down and showed it to Sheherazad, who sniffed it once and asked, "But why would that Paladin guy send you a blank letter through Valencia? I mean, wasn't he concerned she'd get lost or peek at it or something?"

Natasha gave Sheherazad a look. "First of all, the chance of Valencia getting lost is extremely slim. She IS the daughter of Trey Shurehunter, after all. Second, you need to be nicer to her. It is because of her that you didn't end up thinking you were a Vultragon hatchling. Third… it's_ Artix _we're talking about here! If he found a whole camp of undead to slay, do you really think he'd actually check who he's sending the letter with? He probably hardly glanced at her! Y'know, I bet he forgot to even write on it!"

Sheherazad frowned. "You sure don't think much of him, do you?"

Natasha blinked and stood. "That's just how he is, it's not a bad thing." She thought of her words, then sighed. "Come on, Draco, let's bring this to Lady Celestia and see what she says."

Sheherazad shrugged and flapped her wings a few times. "If that's what ya think is best. Maybe Grandma will even give me a new chewy toy!"

Thus, the two set out to Falconreach. Little did they know what lay in store for them when they got there. It would be the biggest-and perhaps the deadliest-mystery the two had ever faced.


	4. Missing Sanity

((Hey all! Thanks for the reviews a bunch. I've really enjoyed writing this story and reading other DF stories! I wish I could update more often, but with finals for the semester coming up, I'm just gonna be too busy for a while. Yeah, I decided I'm gonna take my time on this story. ^_^ ))

**Chapter Two: Missing: Sanity. Reward If Found.**

It was a pleasant walk to Falconreach, really.

Natasha's house was located on the edge of the Shadow of the Wind Village, an odd but peaceful place to live. No one from the village ever bothered her, and she only went to the main village occasionally to greet her old master, the Jonin Thyton.

Indeed, it was odd… especially since the house she lived in didn't exactly… 'fit in' with the village. It was a gift given to her by the Water Elves, as thanks for helping them (long story), and the house looked… well, like it belonged underwater.

ANYWAY, back to the walk: it was a pleasant walk indeed to Falconreach. To get there from the Shadow of the Wind Village, one had to go east, then north, then west, and would arrive in an hour or so. One might think that simply leaving the twisting trail and going straight instead would be faster, but due to the strange (and often dangerous) creatures that lived in the forest there,it really wasn't any faster.

Usually Natasha enjoyed such walks, and would greet people she met along the way. She would then chat with her dragon or sing to herself, or sharpen her weapon… but today was different.

First of all, there were no people along the way to greet. The Shadow of the Wind Village wasn't an often visited place by merchants or a popular tourist site, but there was usually at least a messenger traveling the trail from it to Falconreach. Not today.

Natasha shrugged this thought aside: it wasn't the first time she'd met no one on the way. But still, she had this tugging feeling in her gut.

"It's like the feeling you get when you're gonna puke, y'know?" She told Sheherazad as the two walked North. Sheherazad shook her head.

"Yech. No, I don't know, cuz I've never puked! That's something dragons don't do." She gave a little prideful huff and walked on faster. Natasha frowned.

"That's not the point, Sheherazad. The point is, I don't feel good… but I don't feel exactly sick. This feeling… hmm… I guess it's similar to the one I got when I first met Xan, or helped Nythera gather reagents, or decided to play that dice game with Cysero…"

Sheherazad cocked her head. "But wasn't it fun to do all that? I mean, I had a blast fighting Xan-pan!"

Natasha glared at the little dragon. "_I_ didn't. We practically died!" She sighed. "I guess this just **proves** that you're the dragon destined to **destroy** the world. I mean, who would enjoy fighting with that crazy psycho-"

"NATASHA!"

The interruption came from ahead on the trail. Natasha and Sheherazad looked up, slightly startled to see Valencia running their direction. Her Hammer was nowhere in sight.

"Natasha! Are-are you alright?"

As she got closer, Natasha noticed that Valencia looked rather pale and slightly distressed. She blinked once.

"Uh, I'm fine, Val. Are _you_ okay?"

Valencia looked quickly down at Sheherazad, catching her breath, then back up at Natasha.

"Oh… yes, I'm… just fine. Yes, I am feeling fine… but Natasha, did you… has anyone you've seen today been acting… strange?" Valencia asked.

Natasha frowned. "Actually, it's been pretty quiet today: I haven't met a soul on my walk, but I'm going to Lady Celestia's to-"

"Something's wrong, Natasha. Something that may require your investigation. My giant statue is missing, there are no birds in the sky, Serenity isn't at the inn…, oh, and Robina and Ash … they're not acting _normal_."

Natasha blinked, then got a suspicious look. "Waaait a minute. Do you mean… they're acting like… like-"

Sheherazad piped in, "Like Uncle Cysero?"

Valencia shook her head, hardly able to believe that Natasha seemed to only hear the last words she had said. "They're just being weird… and it's not just them, I suppose. But they've got it the worst."

Natasha frowned. "Got _what?_ Valencia, what's going on?"

Valencia frowned. "Well, come and see for yourself!" She spun around and began running in the direction of Falconreach. Natasha glanced at Sheherazad, shrugged, and followed. Sheherazad took flight to keep up.

It wasn't long until the group arrived at "That A' Way", a square-mile of forest which Valencia called home. It was a small territory East of Falconreach, and it was well traveled by adventurers and merchants alike. No one was there today, though. Valencia jogged into the territory and stopped at her campsite, where she kept her things. She turned around to face Natasha. Natasha blinked. Valencia frowned and crossed her arms. There was a moment of silence.

"What?" Natasha said, frowning.

Valencia seemed quite frustrated. She slapped her arms to her sides and gestured at the surrounding area. "Look around, Natasha! Something _missing?_"

Natasha looked around carefully, and then blinked in surprise. "Wait a sec… you sold your giant golden statue for 1 billion gold?"

"No, Natasha, I didn't 'sell' it. It _**disappeared!**_"

Natasha blinked. "But that's impossible! It can't just disappear! … technically, it's impossible for mass to simply fade out of existence, defying the laws of physics, so it has to be somewhere!" _Or was it a different law? I should really look that up…_

Valencia stared, then shook her head. "It… that statue, Natasha, was _important_ to me. And it's not the only thing that's gone! Why don't you go visit Robina?"

Natasha frowned. "Why don't you come with me?"

"I've had enough of this… it's been like this all morning. Ever since I returned to Falconreach, things have been getting stranger little by little as time passes. Early this morning, it was just a quirk here and there, but now… Natasha, listen! Something has _happened_ to some of the people of Falconreach, something very unusual and not at all good… it's hard to explain, but they just don't seem normal. I don't know what's going on, but I have to go search for my statue! Like you said, it couldn't have just disappeared."

Valencia began filling a bag with her belongings, but Natasha stepped forward.

"Just wait a sec, Val! You're the one who's seen what's going on here: aren't you gonna help me or something? You can't just leave me to figure it all out without a clue; I've been at home all morning! I have NO idea what's been going on here!"

Valencia smiled slyly and shook her head slowly. "Sorry, Natasha. This appears to be heroes work," she said, gesturing towards Falconreach. Natasha gawked slightly.

"But-"

"_Besides_," Valencia continued, "I'm a Treasure Hunter, not a detective. You find out what's going on here, while I find out where my statue went, hmm?" She sighed with relief.

"I feel so much better now that I know that you're here to handle this. I mean, you do this stuff all the time! A mystery like this one should be a good challenge for you… and that gives me pleeeenty of time to go off and find my treasures (_and my dad_) while you work out this mess, 'kay?" By this time, Valencia was done packing and Natasha was standing there speechlessly. Sheherazad was chasing a butterfly.

Valencia winked. "Tata! I'm off to the Jungle!" And with that, she was gone. Just like that. Gone, leaving Natasha alone.

Natasha must have stood there staring for at least fifteen seconds, because Sheherazad soon came bounding up to her and bumped her leg. "Hey, you okay?" She asked, munching something crunchy.

Natasha slowly looked down at the innocent little dragon. She noticed butterfly wings were sticking out of its mouth. "Sheherazad?... let's go to Surewould forest, and see what's going on. I think… I think we have a new Quest."

Sheherazad blinked and quickly swallowed the remains that were in her mouth. "A quest? Like an Orb quest?"

Natasha shook her head and began walking West, towards Falconreach and the entrance to Surewould Forest. "Not unless it's the Orb of Madness."

Sheherazad cocked her head. "Y'know, that sounds like something Uncle Cysero would make!"

"Sheherazad?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't say that."


	5. Just HAD to say it

(Hi all! I'm back! Finals are almost over, and I managed to touch up this chapter. It's not perfect, but I'm pretty happy with it. A few things: whenever Sheherazad speaks, she IS speaking in Draconic. Only Natasha, Lady Celestia and those with Dragon Amulets can understand her. Also, I realize now that the Shadow of the Wind Village is on an island… so, while I will eventually revise my first few chapters, we can just say for now that Natasha walked through a portal on that island that brought her near Falconreach… or something… I'll fix it up when I'm less tired. Have fun reading!)

**Chapter Three: Just HAD to Say it: Orb of Madness?**

The moment Natasha entered Falconreach East, she knew something was wrong. Maybe it was the fact that the buildings all had candy sticking to their roofs. Maybe it was the fact that bits and pieces of paper were shredded all over the ground, blowing the breeze. Or maybe it was the fact that a very, VERY distressed looking Lady Celestia was standing in front of the first building in sight, Gram's Pet Shop.

Sheherazad called a greeting in Draconic to Lady Celestia, who turned in surprise (and then relief) to see Natasha. Natasha quickened her steps to come within earshot of Lady Celestia, who also approached cautiously.

The East side of Falconreach wasn't very populated, but the people who lived there were all nice… and mostly old, like Grams. There was a lovely fountain in the center of the East side, but Natasha couldn't see it from where she was. She could, however, see that absolutely no one was outside except for herself, her dragon and Lady Celestia.

Sheherazad flew ahead of her to greet Lady Celestia, and Natasha broke into a jog to keep up. "Natasha! It is good to see you! Are you…" Lady Celestia stopped about fifteen feet away from Natasha, who also stopped: Sheherazad landed at Lady Celestia's feet.

"Hi, Gramma Celestia! We need to buy more food so Natasha can feed me tomorrow!"

Suddenly ignoring Natasha, Lady Celestia looked down at Sheherazad and smiled. In a surprisingly sweet voice she asked, "And is Natasha acting normal today?"

Both Natasha and Sheherazad looked weirded out. "Um…" Sheherazad looked back at Natasha. "Are you acting normal today?"

Natasha stepped forward. "Funny thing is," she began, "Val asked me the same thing…"

She frowned, naturally expecting Lady Celestia to know exactly what was going on and explain everything. Of course, she didn't, or at least pretended she didn't.

Lady Celestia nodded. "Good, then she's normal as well. Dear me, I don't know what we'd do if you weren't."

"Weren't what?"

"Normal."

"I'm not normal."

"…excuse me?"

"Oh, I mean, I'm my usual self! I'm just… y'know, owning the dragon of the Prophesy and all, I'm not that normal…"

"Oh, of course. That's not what I meant by normal, Natasha."

"Really? Then what'd you mean?"

"Well…"

Lady Celestia paused, as though considering a polite way to put it. "What I really mean is sane, I suppose."

There was a long pause. Natasha stared at Lady Celestia, who had pulled a tea cup out of nowhere and took a long sip of hot tea. Sheherazad finally spoke up: "What's sane? Is that a good thing?"

Natasha ignored the question, but it seemed to break the trance. "Lady Celestia, what is going on? There's no one on the roads, no one in the village and Valencia's giant golden statue is MISSING! PLEASE stop avoiding the question and tell me what's going on!"

Lady Celestia shook her head calmly. "I would love to tell you, Natasha, but I'm afraid I cannot, simply because I do not know what is going on."

Natasha could see that Lady Celestia was being honest—mostly—and whatever she was hiding was unimportant: she really didn't know what was going on. But Natasha needed any answers she could get, so she prodded on:

"Then why is it so incredible that I'm sane?" She demanded.

Lady Celestia's face again turned worried, and Natasha got a sick feeling in her stomach.

"Natasha… I have already met three people today, and none of them were acting like themselves. To put it harshly, there's something very wrong with them: some magic is affecting all of Falconreach, and even some places outside of Falconreach, and making the people in those places act very much different. Mel the warrior, Tsavadon the guard, even Yulena the Moglin… they're all acting strange."

At the mention of a moglin, Natasha immediately thought of Twilly and noticed that he wasn't present, but before she could speak, Lady Celestia continued:

"The magic didn't reach Sunbreeze Grove: Elysia and I are both fine. However, Warlic won't respond to any messages I send him… neither will Cysero."

Natasha shook her head and pulled at her hair. "Just—just hold on a sec! I don't understand, what do you MEAN by 'acting strange?' How different is it?"

Lady Celestia sighed and paused, as though trying to decide how to explain it. Sheherazad looked totally confused but very excited. "Tasha, are we gonna go on a big quest?"

Natasha looked down to see Sheherazad wiggling with excitement. She knew what Sheherazad meant by 'big quest': she meant something like when Nythera killed Warlic, when the Frost Moglins were all captured (though that was kinda getting old…), when the fight for the Fire Orb began… she meant something that took more than a day to complete, and could very well involve the death of more than one person. Natasha sighed. She wanted to say 'I hope not!' but she didn't want to get into a fight with Sheherazad over what was fun and what wasn't. _If this isn't the dragon meant to destroy the world, I don't know what is…_

Lady Celestia seemed to have finished thinking: she looked back to Natasha. "Perhaps you should see for yourself what I mean. However, I must now return to Sunbreeze Grove and check on Twilly… alas, he was not with us when the dilemma occurred, and he is now feral as though a wild animal… he will not even speak."

Natasha frowned. "Just when DID this 'dilemma' begin?" Lady Celestia got a look in her eye, but Natasha couldn't read it. "Last night, I believe, though I can't be certain," Lady Celestia replied. "Head to That-a-Way and look for Robina. Perhaps she will not have been changed, as Valencia was not… however, if she was changed, I am certain you will know."

Natasha nodded. "She could be really helpful," she said, though she still wasn't sure what she'd need help with. Lady Celestia studied her, and a small smile crept onto her face. Natasha frowned. "What?"

Lady Celestia shook her head. "All in good time, my young Hero. I remember when I first met you… back when you were shorter than me."

"I wasn't even hatched!" Sheherazad exclaimed.

Natasha frowned. Just as she opened her mouth to ask a question, Lady Celestia spun around and began walking towards Falconreach. "I shall check on you soon, Natasha. Whatever happens, do not forget who you are, or what you stand for… for if you forget that, you loose the essence of your very soul. Good day, Natasha!" With that Lady Celestia left in a bright flash of white light.

Natasha blinked. "I wish she'd speak in English." Knowing what was coming, she turned to Sheherazad before a question could be asked and said, "I mean I wish she wouldn't talk in parables! Like, couldn't she just be direct?" She sighed and shook her head.

Sheherazad frowned.

"She didn't even give me Pwetty Pwincess Fwakes!"

"Well, let's go see Robina. Maybe she has something you can eat… besides, you don't need more food until tomorrow. Eat too much and you won't be able to fly!"

Sheherazad stuck her tongue out.

With that, Natasha and Sheherazad headed off in the direction of That-a-Way.

~~~~~~~~~five minutes later…~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone knew who Robina was. She was the hero of the animals, the role-model of the young lady, the princess of the forest… Surewould Forest, to be exact. The forest surrounded That-a-Way for about a mile in each direction, but Robina could almost always be found in the same spot. Like Valencia, Robina had a sort of camp set up. However, unlike Valencia, Robina kept her camp as natural as possible. Only in the worst weather would she ever think of setting up a real tent: she preferred sleeping under the stars.

Natasha pondered all of this and everything that had happened that day. She was finally starting to understand what Valencia and Lady Celestia were talking about when they said 'not normal'. She mostly understood it now because of Lady Celestia's mentioning of Twilly.

_Sweet little Twilly, a wild animal? The poor thing! I've never even seen a wild Moglin! They're all so sweet and nice… except Zorbek, but I don't even think he's really a Moglin…_

Natasha felt fairly calm as she followed the trail towards Robina's camp. There was no reason to worry, after all; Robina was either affected by the invading magic or she wasn't. And Natasha was fairly confident that she wasn't. After all, Valencia hadn't been affected.

Moments later, Natasha realized how misplaced her confidence was.

Sheherazad snorted a warning, but it came too late for Natasha to react. She heard a loud screech and felt something shove her to the ground in a rough manner. Feathers flew in her face, and some creature was on top of her. Sheherazad took flight and roared, but didn't dare blow fire on the creature in fear of hitting Natasha. It was a moment before Natasha managed to shove the creature's wing out of her face and see what had clobbered her. She gasped in surprise.

"SCREEEEEECH!" A terrified Forest Fury stared down at her before using her body as a spring and taking flight. It was a young female Forest Fury (males are seldom seen except around mating season), one that had barely developed flight. Natasha was surprised to see one of the human-like birds so close to FalconReach. As it flew away, it suddenly dawned on Natasha that the bird had been terrified, not aggressive. She sat up as quickly as possible to face the cause of the bird's fear… only to see Robina staring at her furiously.

"YOU!" Robina screamed, pointing a shaking finger at Natasha. Sheherazad flew in quick circles around Natasha's head, hoping for some command. Natasha stared in shock at Robina, who was still staring with rage.

"THAT WAS MY MEAL, YOU MORON! AND NOW IT'S GONE!"

Robina's hair was not neatly pulled back as it usually was. Instead it was messy, as though it hadn't been taken care of all day. Her clothes were dirty and her eyes were wild. She was breathing fast, holding a rather pathetic wooden spear in her right hand.

Natasha was almost too stunned to reply. "Robina… you're a vegetarian! A vegan, in fact," She managed to say.

Robina started giggling softly. Her giggling turned into spasms of laughter mixed with choking on air. Her laughter eventually died off and she smiled sweetly at Natasha. By now Sheherazad was hiding behind Natasha, eyes bulging.

"No, dear Natasha. I'm not vegetarian anymore. It's been too long since I've had meat… too long since I've eaten something better than a popsicle!" Robina clenched her teeth in rage.

"I'm sick and tired of being the perfect little forest girl that NO ONE notices! Tell me, Natasha, when was the last time you invited me to go on a quest with you?"

Natasha frowned. "Actually, I invited you two weeks ago, but you turned it down because you had some important interview with the King of the Jungle's wife."

There was a moment of awkward silence. "Oh, yes…" Robina said. For a moment, Natasha thought she saw sanity return to Robina's face. But then the rage came again.

"That's beside the point!" Robina said, clenching the wooden spear tightly. "I want meat! I want the juiciest, fattest, biggest hunk of meat I can find! Help me, Natasha! Help me hunt, and together we can RULE the world of butcher shops!"

Natasha frowned as the shock of the situation wore off. "No, Robina. I can't let you do this to yourself. As much as I love steak, I _know_ you don't really want to eat meat, and you DEFINITELY don't want to hunt it! I… I'm not going to let you kill anything, Robina."

A look of horror came upon Robina's face. "You would STOP me? You would take away my FREE WILL?"

Natasha shook her head firmly. "Robina! You're being controlled by dark magic! Right now, everything you're saying makes no sense and is completely untrue. Fight it, Robina! Fight the darkness!" Sheherazad nodded quickly.

Robina shook her head. "You're trying to become dictator, aren't you?" She said, pointing accusingly at Natasha. "You just want to control everyone's lives! You think you're such a great hero, think you can just waltz in and take whatever you want from whoever you want to! I know your plans, Natasha, and I plan to tell the world of them! You will not escape justice, you evil mage!"

Natasha frowned. "I'm a rogue, not a mage. I did think of switching once, but I don't think I could stand just holding a staff and shooting bolts of ele-"

"ENOUGH! DIE, DICTATOR-WANNABE!"

Robina lifted the spear above her head. Natasha quickly took a defensive stance, prepared to block any attack. Robina hesitated a moment, then smiled. She threw the spear through the air… aimed straight for Sheherazad. Natasha was unprepared for a low attack, but Robina was senseless enough that the spear wasn't flying at top speed; Natasha managed to block the blow from hitting Sheherazad.

The little dragon jumped back in surprise. Natasha suddenly felt angry. She stood to face Robina, who was laughing like a maniac. "Robina!" She shouted angrily. Robina paid her no heed, and simply continued laughing.

Natasha gritted her teeth. "Attacking me is one thing, Robina, but even thinking of harming my dragon brings you to a whole different level with me!"

Natasha wasn't sure that what she said made any sense, but she doubted Robina heard her anyways. Robina finally finished laughing and faced Natasha again. This time she had a sharp rock in her hand.

She grinned and closed her eyes. Natasha waited, holding her breath and trying to decide how to stun Robina without really hurting her. Suddenly Robina's eyes flew open.

"I'll be having dragon for dinner tonight!"

With that, she charged.

Natasha took a stance. Closer and closer Robina came, and Natasha calculated her next moves carefully. She tried not to let Robina's words distract her…

"Here we go," she mumbled.

The moment Robina came within seven feet, Natasha threw a rope with a loop at Robina. Just as she suspected, Robina dodged to the left. Natasha threw out a net towards Robina's feet only a moment after Robina shifted left. Unprepared and unbalanced, Robina immediately got her feet stuck in the net and came crashing to the ground. Natasha leapt forwards and pinned Robina in an arm lock as she tied the net shut.

Robina gasped, then screamed. Natasha frowned. "Just be quiet! Lady Celestia will help you!" Robina screamed again, and Natasha turned to look at Sheherazad. She frowned to see Sheherazad cowering behind a tree about ten feet away.

_And THIS is the dragon who thought that fighting Xan was "fun."_

"Sheherazad, go get Lady Celestia!" She yelled. Sheherazad frowned. "But it's too far!"

Natasha gritted her teeth against Robina's screaming. "Alright, you stay here with Robina and I'll go get Lady Celestia." Sheherazad shook her head quickly and took flight.

Robina stopped screaming and began sobbing, blabbering as she did so. Natasha managed to make out "I only wanted meat!" and "Nobody ever lets me be myself!"

She frowned, making sure the net was secure. "Please hurry, Sheherazad…"

Moments later, Sheherazad came scurrying around the corner. Natasha glared, thinking the dragon had given up on flying to Sunbreeze Grove… but then she spotted Lady Celestia and her apprentice Elysia quickly following behind.

Natasha gave the two a helpless look, and they quickly hurried over. Elysia knelt down. "I'll take her back to Sunbreeze Grove," she said quickly. Natasha was glad she didn't have to explain the situation.

Elysia touched the net. "You can get off it now, Natasha," she said softly. Natasha frowned. "Are you sure? I mean, you should have seen her. She wanted to eat Sheherazad…"

Elysia gave Natasha a gentle look, and Natasha sighed. "Right," she said as she released the arm lock. "You've got it handled."

Elysia touched Robina's forehead, and in moments Robina stopped sobbing and closed her eyes. Lady Celestia waved her arm through the air and a portal to Sunbreeze Grove appeared next to her. Natasha frowned. "Wish I could do that," she said.

"Take care of her, Elysia. I will speak to Natasha."

Elysia nodded and touched the portal. Moments later, she and Robina faded out of sight. Natasha turned to Lady Celestia. "Not sane? Slightly different? Are those the best words you could come up with to describe _this_?"

Lady Celestia shook her head. "I am sorry Natasha, but I did not know how much it had affected Robina. No one I met on my way here was so awfully affected, and I had no idea it had changed Robina so much. Had I known, I would surely have warned you."

Natasha sighed, accepting the apology. She then quickly explained to Lady Celestia everything that she could remember about Robina's behavior and what happened. Lady Celestia sipped her tea and listened silently. Natasha felt the need to end with, "It was like she was Galanoth's female evil twin, except Galanoth never mentioned eating dragons…" When Natasha had finished, Lady Celestia shook her head.

"It is worse than I thought indeed. Unfortunately, this means we cannot guess who has been affected and how badly they have been affected. Perhaps there are cases worse than Robina."

*awkward silence*

"Anyways, I have brought you something important, Natasha, and not a moment too late." Lady Celestia reached into her sleeve and pulled out a bracelet. Before Natasha could ask what it was, Lady Celestia explained:

"This bracelet is imbued with magic that I have been working on for a while now. As you can guess, I am going to be extremely busy trying to lift the magic from poor Robina… and others, if we find them."

Natasha frowned, wondering where this was going. Lady Celestia handed the bracelet to Natasha and continued: "This bracelet will allow you to contact me every two hours, and even teleport me to you when necessary. I do suggest you speak to me with it first and warn me that you will be teleporting me. Use it wisely and remember, after you use it once, you must wait two hours before trying it again… or it will shatter." Lady Celestia smiled as Natasha put the bracelet on. "Good luck," she said, smiling brighter yet. "I know you can do this."

As Lady Celestia turned to go, Natasha wondered just what she meant by that. _She knows I can do this? I don't even know what I'm doing!_ A question came to mind and Natasha stepped forwards. "Wait! Where—where should I go? How far does this bad magic spread?"

Lady Celestia turned her head to look back at Natasha. "As far north as Dragesvard, as far East as the Sandsea, as far south as The Necropolis, as far west as Oaklore. As far down as Ravenloss, as far up as Popsprocket… oh, but don't worry about Aeris Battlespire: I already checked on them and they're all fine." Lady Celestia turned and continued walking, but spoke loud enough for Natasha to hear as she left: "Start here in Falconreach and search all of Lore. You will find allies: that I am sure of. They may be strange, but they will help you. I know you can do this, Natasha! Find them all and make sure they're alright. Bring them to Elysia and I, and we will do our best to help them. Tata!"

WHOOSH. And she was gone.

Natasha stood there, trying to comprehend what Lady Celestia had just said. "So we have to look everywhere," she concluded in an unbelieving voice. Sheherazad nodded. "Yup yup! That's what it sounds like! Except for Gramma's home and the Battlespire. So, where should we go first?"

Natasha looked down at Sheherazad. "Well, if everyone's as bad off as Robina, we have no time to waste! Let's go central Falconreach and check on Serenity and the others!" Thus the Rogue and her dragon dashed off, leaving Robina's camp vacant.

~In the wake of Robina's insanity, standing in the shadows of the forest, a cloaked figure smiled. _She will never find them all, not in time. So naïve, the dragonrogue. Does she even suspect this is simply a distraction?_


End file.
